Health & Fitness
Tell Me About Dementia
Today we are living much, much longer therefore the dementia population is increasing rapidly. The more education we have the better off we are.
Tell Me About Dementia
I am not an expert on dementia but I have taken many classes and I have learned
a lot in my support groups and workshops over the past several years. My mother
also had some dementia although I did not realize it at the time. I did my best
knowing what I did at that time. And I am most grateful to be able to share
with you what I have learned since that journey.
The 2013 Alzheimer's Disease Facts And Figures report has concluded the
following:
1. 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia.
2. Out-of-pocket expenses for long-distance caregivers are nearly twice as much
as local caregivers.
3. In 2012, 15.4 million caregivers provided an estimated 17.5 billion hours
of unpaid care, valued at more than $216 billion.
4. Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death.
What is dementia?
Dementia is an umbrella term describing a variety of diseases that develop when
there is a decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain
where nerve cells in the brain die or no longer function normally. Alzheimers
is the most common type of dementia.
There are numerous causes of dementia and getting the proper diagnosis is one
of the most crucial steps in dealing with this disease.
Most all of us will experience some sort of dementia during our lifetime. There
was not much discussion about this years ago because we did not live as long as
we are living today. I can remember my grandmother forgetting some things and
also saying some things that we thought were silly. The common response then
was "Oh grandma is just getting senile." And unfortunately grandma died around
65 years of age. Not so today.
Today we are living much, much longer therefore the dementia population is
increasing rapidly. The more education we have the better off we are.
There are ways we can survive this journey. Over the next several weeks I'll be
writing a series of articles with further information about Alzheimer's and
dementia. I hope I will be able to ease your burden a little bit on this
journey and give you information that will be useful for you.
Caregivers - you are NOT alone!
Linda Burhans is a Caregiver Advocate with Harmony Home Health (www.harmonyhh.com) and is the author of the book “Good Night And God Bless” Please feel free to join Linda at one of her support groups or journaling workshops.